Plane returns to Midway after engine fails

January 20, 2006|By From news services.

A Southwest Airlines plane that took off Thursday morning from Midway returned to the airport minutes later after the engine on the right wing lost power, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The pilots of the Boeing 737, bound for Indianapolis, reported engine difficulty shortly before 7:30 a.m. and landed back at Midway without incident, FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro said. The aircraft is designed to fly on one engine, if necessary.

An indicator light activated when the engine was at full power, and the pilots throttled the engine back to idle, Southwest spokeswoman Marilee McInnis said. The engine was not shut down until the plane landed and parked at the gate, she said.

Forty-nine passengers and five crew members were aboard Flight 2489, officials said.

The passengers were put on another plane to Indianapolis, leaving Chicago about two hours late, McInnis said.